


Some bumps and bruises along the way

by MyLadyDay



Series: They Loved Each Other [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Established Relationship, Food Fight, M/M, Mentions of SEP experimentation, Mild (accidental) violence, SEP era, Soldiers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-07 09:48:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17363714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyLadyDay/pseuds/MyLadyDay
Summary: Part 1: SEP“Don’t think so hard,” Gabe said with a smile, drawing Jack’s attention to him, “or you’ll be stuck with a permanent frown on your face.”The moment his eyes met Gabe’s, the relief surrounding Jack was almost palpable.“Fuck, that’s gonna bruise,” Jack blurted out, as he stared wide-eyed at Gabe. “I mean, I’m sorry,” he added quickly, sounding sincere enough.





	Some bumps and bruises along the way

**Author's Note:**

> One of two of my pieces for the amazing They Loved Each Other Zine. Since the zine was divided into eras and I wrote two pieces in the same 'verse for the zine, I decided to write short entries for the same 'verse for the other eras (which I'll post at some point).

 

Even after all the months he’d spent in the program, Gabe couldn’t decide if it was a kindness that his appointments with the medical staff were always scheduled right before dinner. On the one hand, the food was fucking terrible and every moment spent not eating it was a damn blessing. Probably why the doctors didn’t mind working at dinner time. On the other hand, the tests always left him starving from the stress and exertion. Just walking all the way from the medical wing was exhausting, to the point where Gabe felt like fainting was a very real possibility.

It was always the same. A new dose of drugs, a lot of wires and tubes and beeping monitors. The murmur of doctors around him, mumbling to themselves while their pens tapped against an impressive number of clipboards. They didn’t talk to him or ask any questions, not now, when they had an extensive record of how he tolerated the drugs. He had survived the program this long, so he supposed his tolerance wasn’t that bad overall. 

Sometimes he wondered if they all had the same process, the same tolerance to the cocktail of whatever it was that they were getting—the ones that were left, anyway—other times he regretted not asking questions when he’d still had the chance. He doubted he would have gotten any answers, but he wished he’d asked anyway.

His stomach was painfully empty and loudly rumbling as he came close enough to the mess hall to hear the scraping of cutlery against plates. Just the thought of food made him want to run. Whether toward the hall or away from it, he hadn’t decided yet. His hate for that food was almost endless, but as much as the thought of it sickened him, he needed to eat.

The smell of dinner was slowly reaching him, and he hated the fact that it actually smelled good (now that he was starving). Briefly, he was genuinely disgusted with himself, but not enough to turn around and just go to bed with an empty stomach. It wasn’t worth it.

As distracted as he was, Gabe hadn’t noticed when exactly the noise from the mess hall turned from the sounds of eating to those of a brawl, but they were growing loud enough by the time he rounded the corner and approached the door. It sounded like a fight, which wasn’t unusual in itself, not after months of being cooped up with limited company.

Gabe didn’t really care what was going on or who was fighting this time. All he wanted was to suffer through dinner and to stop feeling like he was about to faint from hunger at any moment, then to sleep for as long as he could. He didn’t pay attention to the shouting, because he honestly didn’t give a fuck, and he refused to be dragged into whatever was happening.

A projectile of crappy mashed potatoes hit the wall next to his head with a dull thud, leaving an indent in the drywall. It fit right in with the other dents made over the past few months. He looked away from the wall and into the crowd of super soldiers throwing food at each other, in what was probably the least aggressive brawl Gabe had seen so far, despite all of them having the strength to wreck a wall with a hand full of mashed potatoes.

Instead of a clear path toward food that was still relatively edible, Gabe was met with the sight of a projectile sailing through the air towards his face. There was no time to react, and with a whispered “what the fuck,” he braced for impact.

* * *

He could almost hear Jack worrying as soon as he came to. The nervous pacing told him more than Jack probably realized. It was enough to make Gabe smile before he opened his eyes, to find that they were in his room.

Even if he was still hungry as hell, Gabe was instantly in a far better mood, now that there were no other people in sight. The knowledge that Jack had carried him all the way there only made it so much better. Jack was still pacing at the foot of his bed, oblivious to the fact Gabe had woken up.

“Don’t think so hard,” Gabe said with a smile, drawing Jack’s attention to him, “or you’ll be stuck with a permanent frown on your face.”

The moment his eyes met Gabe’s, the relief surrounding Jack was almost palpable.

“Fuck, that’s gonna bruise,” Jack blurted out, as he stared wide-eyed at Gabe. “I mean, I’m sorry,” he added quickly, sounding sincere enough.

Gabe snorted at that.

“Wasn’t your fault. Who the fuck brought a rock to the mess hall anyway?”

Jack’s face was doing that complicated thing it always did when he tried to stop himself from laughing, which made him look constipated and very apologetic about it, but Gabe knew what it meant.

“It was you, wasn’t it?” Gabe asked, after a moment.

“I swear, I wasn’t aiming at you,” Jack said immediately, the words bursting out in a mumbled mess.

“A rock, Morrison? Seriously?” Gabe asked, though he was already feeling the laughter bubbling in his chest because of course, it was Jack.

“Not a rock,” Jack said, all the worry gone from his face, being slowly replaced by genuine amusement (even if it looked a bit like he still felt guilty).

They stared at each other in silence, while Jack fought back the snorts of laughter.

“It was a dinner roll,” he said, before finally breaking down and laughing out loud, because he knew just how much Gabe hated the damn bread.

Gabe was speechless for a moment, unsure how to process the fact he had been actually knocked out by a dinner roll so stale, it could be considered a weapon in the right hands. Or the wrong hands, depending on how he chose to look at the situation.

But Jack was laughing like he hadn’t in a while, tears gathered at the corners of his eyes and his whole body moving with the force of it, so Gabe really couldn’t be mad about almost being done in by a piece of bread. Even if his hatred for the food increased tenfold.

He got up from the bed, noting that Jack had even had time to remove his boots before he woke up again. He made his way over to where Jack was just starting to pull himself together. It was truly amazing, to watch him smile so brightly for a change. By the time Gabe stood in front of him, his laughter had died down, but the mirth remained on his face.

“I am sorry it hit you, though,” Jack said, in that sincere way of his, with the damned earnest look on his face and the blue eyes that made him look more innocent than Gabe knew he was. “Does it hurt?” he asked with more seriousness as if pain worse than this wasn’t a very common part of their lives. 

“I’m fine, sunshine,” Gabe said with a smile, reaching out the cup Jack’s cheek, before pulling him closer. Jack’s arms went around his shoulders instantly, without hesitation.

“I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t look at that pretty face of yours every day,” Jack grinned, pressing his lips to Gabe’s face just under his left eye, where the roll hit him.

“Stop being so dramatic,” Gabe said. He pressed a kiss to Jack’s mouth as soon as the words were out, just to stop any further sass because they could bicker all day if given the chance.

He moved his hand from Jack’s cheek, sliding it around Jack’s middle with his other hand, letting it rest there for a moment while he enjoyed the warmth of Jack’s lips against his. Until then, Gabe had barely realized how long his day had been. Tedious and exhausting and tiresome, and this was just what he needed. With that thought, Gabe pulled back, just far enough that their lips weren’t touching anymore.

“I’m not dramatic,” Jack said, as soon as his mouth was free again.

Gabe could only snort at that, not believing it for a second, as he tightened his grip on Jack and picked him up. The way Jack relaxed into the touch spoke volumes of the trust between them. Gabe couldn’t help the wave of warmth that washed over him at the thought. It helped ease some of the lingering weariness after his appointment with the medical staff.

Being used to them didn’t mean he enjoyed any part of it.

He carried Jack over to his bed with ease, like he’d done so many times before, making sure they both fit while lying so that Gabe could use Jack’s chest as a pillow. They had a lot of practice making themselves fit together on a tiny, single bed.

Jack’s arms were around him immediately, the tips of his fingers running up and down Gabe’s back, moving slowly over the ridges of his spine. The touch was soothing, reminding him that he wasn’t alone here. The bed was far too small for the two of them, but it was familiar and routine, just as much as the appointments were. Gabe didn’t think he could go back to having to deal with the aftermath alone.

“How bad was it today?” Jack asked softly, like he always did after Gabe came back from the medical wing.

“The usual,” Gabe replied honestly, no matter how difficult it may have been once to admit the pain bothered him. But it was always the same, a dull ache he was fully prepared for that still somehow took him by surprise every single time. But Jack understood and that was enough to help him get his bearings afterwards. “Didn’t eat the whole day, though.”

“I managed to salvage some dinner for you,” Jack said, because of course he’d thought of everything. “Even got you a bread roll,” he added with amusement all too audible in his voice.

“You’re an ass,” Gabe said, unable to stop himself from laughing.

It always felt good to laugh with Jack, to let go of some of the uneasiness. Gabe felt Jack’s lips pressing into his hair in reply, but he didn’t deny that he was an ass.

“You should eat now,” Jack said after a few moments of silence, sounding serious yet again. “We have all night to rest and I’m not going anywhere.”

Jack was right, as usual. Gabe really needed the food—needed the energy—because the drugs always made him feel especially weak, and it wasn’t a feeling he appreciated. Getting hit in the head didn’t really help matters, either.

“I know, sunshine,” Gabe said, but he made no attempt to let go of Jack nor to move from their small bubble of safety. He was too comfortable for that. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”

All the time in the world meant until the wake-up call early in the morning, but they always had tomorrow, too. They weren’t going anywhere anytime soon.


End file.
